Victorian dad has lived in caravan for 17 months, unable to find rental

Alistair Turner, 39, has resorted to living in a caravan with his family in his parents’ front yard to avoid homelessness after applying to more than 175 rental properties.

Despite being employed full-time with a good rental history, he was unable to lock down a home for his young family.

“I don’t want to accept the fact that this is where I live, I want a property, I want to raise my children in a house,” he told 9News.

”As a father and as a partner you feel embarrassed, you can’t provide.

“We’ve also gone (to) community housing, when we first looked into it we were told there was a 1.5-year waiting list.”

Turner and his family have been living in the caravan for 17 months.

Read Related Also: Cruz: I'm running in 2024 … for the Senate

Property experts say the problem is not just affecting Turner, telling 9News there’s too much demand for the available supply – and it’s only getting worse.

“Just this week I had a property in Point Cook – we are looking at about $440/450 (a week) as the rent, I got 57 applications,” Kazween Marker from Marker Realty said.

While the situation is dire, Marker shared a few tips to help break through the noise on rental applications. 

“There is a part (on applications) where tenants can put in a little description of themselves,” she said.

“Give us details of your previous rental history, employment reference, paychecks.”